David Pretorius, [01 Aug 2023 at 09:02:39]: Morning Everyone. I am looking for laws and regulations with regards to Snotsiekte (malignant catarrhal fever). Fencing requirements, permitting etc. Please send me any relevant data you may have on this. Kind Regards. David Zoe Glyphis, [01 Aug 2023 at 13:17:15]: Hi David I've had a lot of requests about this recently. The law is simple - if a landowner has permission from nature conservation, with the relevant permit for the province, to keep wildebeest on his land (they should check the fence every 4 years on renewing the permit), then the landowner can do as he wishes in terms of his wildebeest. The cattle farmer must ensure he creates some kind of corridor if he chooses to farm next door and ideally keep his cows far away during wildebeest lambing season. And a 1km corridor isn't necessarily going to stop it. It seems very unclear whether the "I was here first" argument matters as well. Dr Moritz van Vuuren would be a good person to contact Henry Labuschagne, [01 Aug 2023 at 13:21:47]: BWB associated and/ or sheep associated BMC/MCF? David Pretorius, [01 Aug 2023 at 13:26:40]: I think it will depend if it is sheep / wildebeest associated. And I am not sure if the law differentiates? I also heard about the 1km fence that seems to be absurd, I am sure that this may be reducing risk but is it sufficient distance of separation? As downstream/wind may also play a role? Also, the question of who is first, is it upheld in court?? Zoe Glyphis, [01 Aug 2023 at 13:55:36]: The cattle owner will obviously need to prove it is wildebeest associated and not sheep associated by means of PCR. There are cases where it has travelled more than 1km. Another issue is latently infected animals - some cattle can 'incubate' for more than 200 days before showing clinical signs and they can be latent carriers although they can't transmit it to other cattle. It’s very complicated and if I was ever to go to court for something like this, I'd probably temporarily change profession 😀 or I'd want to be on the wildebeest team 😀 Pigs can get it too... Henry Labuschagne, [01 Aug 2023 at 17:52:12]: I have confirmed cases where the closest BWB were 3km away. As far as I know MCF cases in pigs were only sheep associated. Jacques ODell, [01 Aug 2023 at 18:10:04]: David, there are no laws that regulate Snotsiekte. It used to be regulated (many years ago), hence the WR numbers for game farms that had wildebeest. BMCF is not a controlled disease, only notifiable. The only relevant legislation is thus Act 35 of 1984. Usual nature conservation permits apply to the wildebeest. Zoe Glyphis, The wheel turns. 30 years ago, the cattle farmers won the court cases. 10 years ago, the game farmers won the court cases. Now the cattle farmers again. Best lawyer will win. Thus, the farmer that can afford said lawyer…
